Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to digital media and, more specifically, to pre-buffering audio streams.
Description of the Related Art
Digital content distribution systems conventionally include a content server, a content player, and a communications network connecting the content server to the content player. The content server is configured to store digital content files, which can be downloaded from the content server to the content player. Each digital content file corresponds to a specific identifying title, such as “Gone with the Wind,” which is familiar to a user. The digital content file typically includes sequential content data, organized according to playback chronology, and may comprise audio data, video data, or a combination thereof.
The content player is configured to download and play a digital content file, in response to a user request selecting the title for playback. The process of playing the digital content file includes decoding and rendering audio and video data into an audio signal and a video signal, which may drive a display system having a speaker subsystem and a video subsystem. Playback typically involves a technique known in the art as “streaming,” whereby the content server sequentially transmits the digital content file to the content player, and the content player plays the digital content file while content data is received that comprises the digital content file.
In a typical streaming system, a certain amount of the audio and video data associated with the currently selected digital content file needs to be buffered before the digital content file can be played with an acceptable quality. In a scenario where a user rapidly switches between digital content files, the buffering requirements results in interrupted playback since the newly selected digital content first must be buffered.
As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed in the art is an approach for buffering digital content files that may be selected by the user for viewing next.